The most popular

The most popular plumes came from various species of wading birds, known as "little snowies" for their snowy-white feathers; even more prized were the "nuptial plumes", grown during mating season and displayed by birds during courtship.[10] Poachers often stole into the densely populated rookeries, where they would shoot and then pluck the roosting birds clean, leaving their carcasses to rot. Unprotected eggs became easy prey for predators, as were newly hatched birds, who also starved or died from exposure. One ex-poacher would later write of the practice, “The heads and necks of the young birds were hanging out of the nests by the hundreds. I am done with bird hunting forever!”[11]